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Flavortown Food Fight - Season 1 - Episode 04: Crunch Day
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00:01Citizens to Flavortown!
00:03I've invited the best chefs to see who can cook any cuisine
00:06in our off-the-hook restaurants.
00:08From the food carts to the fine dining.
00:11New restaurant every day.
00:13You never know what you're getting yourself into.
00:15But Flavortownians!
00:17Today is all about the most tempting sound of all, and that is...
00:21Crunch!
00:25As mayor, I'm decreeing that all chefs prepare dishes
00:29that pack a crunch so loud it can be heard in the next town over.
00:34I'm gonna crunchify this thing.
00:35We're going to Christatown now.
00:37I got crunchy, and I don't want to go home.
00:39This is Crunch Day in Flavortown!
00:51All right, it's time to see if our new culinary recruits
00:54can defeat our returning Flavortown champ.
00:56Ladies and gentlemen, it's crunch time!
00:59And here they are now!
01:00Oh, my God!
01:01Chef Josh Smith!
01:02Flavortown, this is so cool!
01:03Walking into Flavortown is incredible.
01:05All these different concepts that you can work in.
01:07This is crazy!
01:08I feel like I'm in your brain.
01:09You should be very worried about that, Chef.
01:12Knowing that there's really no telling where you're gonna wind up cooking,
01:15it sounds challenging, but I'm the executive chef at Bourbon Steak in Las Vegas.
01:19It's a chef-driven Michael Mina Steakhouse.
01:21I'm also the director of R&D for Mina Group.
01:24And I know my way around every kind of kitchen.
01:27And Chef Saba Duffy.
01:29I cannot believe I'm in Flavortown right now.
01:32I have done everything you can possibly do in the food world at this point.
01:36Run a food truck, a catering business.
01:39I have won the title of Chopped Grand Champion, but Flavortown is massive.
01:46Oh, my God.
01:47It does make me nervous.
01:49Welcome. Welcome to Flavortown.
01:51Thank you, Mr. Mayor.
01:52We give first awards in Flavortown,
01:55and we're gonna give you the award of the first chef to ever show up with a backpack.
01:59That's awesome. That's awesome.
02:00I don't know exactly what you put in there, but...
02:02It's a knife bag. I brought a lot of knives.
02:04All of the knives. Okay.
02:05Let me introduce you to the returning two-time champ, Chef Maria Maison.
02:11Two times.
02:12I am the chef and owner of Boca and Zona Tortillas in Tucson, my hometown that I love.
02:18My tank is full, and I am ready to cook up a storm in Flavortown.
02:23I'm liking your office. I think I'm moving in.
02:27Maria is a seasoned competitor. It's intimidating.
02:30This town is no joke.
02:32Every pantry is different, and I'm not gonna tell you more.
02:36Oh, my God. I need to get a leg up on her.
02:38This is the kind of battle we want to bring to the streets of Flavortown.
02:41Now, Chef Maria, to date, how much money have you won?
02:45$31,000.
02:46$31,000.
02:48That's a lot of tacos.
02:48Wow.
02:50So, there are two rounds in this food fight,
02:52and after each round, unfortunately, one chef's shift will be over.
02:55The last chef standing will have a chance to earn a paycheck up to $20,000
03:01and get a chance to return to Flavortown to defend their champion title
03:06and hopefully win some more money.
03:08I've been here. I know this.
03:10And I want to take the third W. I want to win again.
03:13So, for today's competition, things are about to get loud, loud, loud.
03:19Because I have declared this crunch day in Flavortown.
03:24Amazing.
03:24Today, the judges will be eating with their ears first,
03:27so your dishes must pack that crunch.
03:30All right.
03:30Now, in Flavortown, these restaurants change all the time.
03:33So, you never know what you're gonna get.
03:36Now, tonight, we have our sausage and hot dog cart,
03:39whose small kitchens are filled with the most bodacious brats,
03:43awesome andouille, and the most tempting toppings.
03:45Okay.
03:46I don't really cook with pork products a lot,
03:49because I grew up in a very conservative Pakistani Muslim household,
03:53so we never ate pork.
03:56Hushpuffy Holler is a down-home southern dining spot
03:59where the chefs take pride in their fried comfort cooking.
04:02Even the quickest dishes taste slow cooked.
04:05I'm known for Mexican cuisine, Latino cuisine, not southern.
04:09Then there's one that's near and dear to my heart.
04:11Knuckle sandwiches.
04:13Yeah, where the pantry is piled high with the delicious meats,
04:16cheeses, crunchy bread, and spreads to make sammies that just hit right.
04:20Fast casual is kind of my comfort zone.
04:23That's the kind of food that I love to cook.
04:26Chez Penny, named after my mom, Penny,
04:28is our fine dining French restaurant
04:30where the accent is on fresh seasonal ingredients.
04:33If I can get to that fine dining restaurant,
04:35I know that's where I would find the ingredients that I would mesh with the best.
04:38Now, before each round,
04:40one chef is gonna earn the right
04:41to decide what kitchen all chefs are gonna cook in.
04:45We're gonna let your taste buds pick the first location
04:48with a quick taste bud test.
04:52Chefs, whoever correctly identifies the flavors of five potato chips first
04:57will be the one that gets to pick the first restaurant you all cook in.
05:02Now, if by chance you get some wrong, it will come down to who got the most right.
05:07Okay.
05:08This is my first major competition, and now I'm actually quite frightened.
05:12You know, just because I've done, like, higher end stuff than somebody
05:15doesn't mean that we're not gonna wind up competing on a hot dog cart
05:17and I'm gonna lose, you know?
05:19All right, you'll have 60 seconds.
05:22And that starts, as we would say in guys' grocery games,
05:25which is just five blocks down the road in case you need anything.
05:29It's gonna start in three, two, one, go.
05:33I'm most excited to cook at the food carts
05:36because you know what to expect.
05:40You make me hungry and I hear great crunching.
05:42I'm thinking the southern-style restaurant.
05:46Southern food comes naturally to me.
05:4815 seconds.
05:52Chef, you got that third one?
05:54It's just sweet. I can't tell.
05:57Chef Maria, you were first.
05:58Number one?
05:59Salt and vinegar.
06:00Got it. Chef?
06:01Salt and vinegar.
06:02Great.
06:03All right, number two, barbecue, barbecue, barbecue.
06:06That is correct.
06:06Number three is honey Dijon.
06:08We have sweet, we have regular, and we have sour.
06:11Nobody gets it, but we're still tied.
06:13Number four is dill pickle.
06:15We got dill.
06:16We got dill.
06:16We got dill.
06:17That's a big dill.
06:18Oh, my God.
06:19And number five is salt and pepper.
06:22We have plain, we have salt and pepper, and we have pickle.
06:25So, Saba wins.
06:27Congratulations.
06:28There you go.
06:28Oh, my God.
06:29Congratulations.
06:30This is a huge advantage.
06:32Control is power.
06:33All right, Chef Saba.
06:34Yes.
06:35Let's take a look at the restaurant choices you have.
06:37We have our sausage and hot dog carts.
06:40Hush Puppy Holler, Shea Penny, our fine dining spot, or knuckle sandwiches.
06:46What entices you?
06:47Okay.
06:48And remember, it's crunch day.
06:49Where are you going to get the best crunch and punch?
06:51Ooh, that's a good one.
06:53The one that intimidates me the most is the southern restaurant.
06:58I am not interested in the carts.
07:01I feel like with the southern comfort, there's a lot of opportunity to bring crunch.
07:05Now, are you comfortable with southern food?
07:07I've done some southern cooking.
07:09Okay.
07:09Yeah, I can make a mean biscuit.
07:10What are you thinking?
07:12Oh, God.
07:15I think I'm going to go with southern comfort.
07:21Flavortown, this is Hush Puppy Holler, where we take down home cooking up a notch.
07:26And here comes our head waiter, the one and only, what's the guy's name again?
07:30Let's see what he has on today.
07:31He loves his outfits.
07:33Yes.
07:33Oh.
07:34Always changing outfits.
07:35You sure you don't work at the hot dog cart?
07:37On and off.
07:37Yeah, I'm part time.
07:38Fantastic.
07:39Chefs, welcome to the Hush Puppy Holler.
07:41Now, on today's menu, we will have a dish that will be consisting of meat and a side.
07:48Dude.
07:48All right.
07:49So, we know this from the old southern staple of meat and two or meat and three.
07:52This, we're just giving you meat and one.
07:54There you go.
07:54I work in a steakhouse.
07:56So, you know, meat plus ones, what I do the best.
07:58Featuring the oh-so-lovely plant, okra.
08:02It's a southern favorite, right?
08:04Who doesn't love okra?
08:05I don't love okra.
08:08Just not thinking crunch.
08:10And don't forget, today is crunch day, so your dish has to be crunchy.
08:14That could be a difficult thing.
08:16Okay, gotta have okra, meat and a side, and of course, it's gotta have crunch.
08:20The dishes will receive a ranking of stars.
08:23A five-star dish will earn you $5,000, as well as the right to pick the next restaurant in
08:28the competition.
08:29The four-star dish will get $4,000, and the three-star, well, your shift will be over.
08:34Got it.
08:3430 minutes on the clock.
08:36Chefs, the kitchen, George.
08:37Good luck.
08:38Good luck, guys.
08:39Where are all the stations?
08:41I'm going over here.
08:42Let's go.
08:42Where's the okra?
08:43Got it.
08:44It's difficult to navigate a kitchen you've never cooked in before.
08:48I'm gonna grab some shrimp.
08:50But I know that I'm going into the fryer to ensure that crunch factor.
08:54What I need is chickpea flour.
08:55I grew up with a Pakistani-style okra dish using chickpea flour, and it was, like, really big crunch factor.
09:04The pantry is 100% different from the trattoria last week.
09:10I want chicken thighs, but I saw chicken wings, and guess who comes to mind?
09:15My beautiful, gorgeous, handsome son.
09:17He loves wings.
09:18And I'm gonna make it spicy.
09:19I'm gonna make it Maria dish.
09:21I have chiles.
09:22Pork loin sounds nice.
09:24I am a protein, a meat connoisseur, but I think that this is gonna be a really tough competition.
09:28It's not a layup.
09:30I mean, okra, it needs to be cooked correctly, and it has to be crunchy.
09:34This is gonna be a tough one.
09:36How we looking, chef?
09:37Oh, pretty good.
09:38I'm gonna do some cornmeal-crusted shrimp.
09:41The shrimp is going to soak in some buttermilk, along with smoked paprika aioli, and everything needs crunch.
09:50Cornmeal is gonna ensure that crunch factor.
09:53I'm gonna crunchify this shrimp, but I hate okra.
09:58Can I just say that?
09:59When my grandmother used to make okra, she would make a chickpea fritter.
10:03Still no on the chickpea flour, huh?
10:05No one's seen it.
10:06Not something I've found yet.
10:07Heard.
10:08But I'm in this southern pantry, so I just have to work with what I got.
10:14Oh, my God.
10:15Maybe choosing southern-style restaurant was the bad thing.
10:19First thing we're gonna do is get onions and not cut ourselves.
10:23Chef Josh, talk to me.
10:25What are you thinking?
10:26I'm doing blackened pork chops okra with buttermilk fried onions, and then some grilled green beans as our side dish.
10:32Got it.
10:33Okay, I'm dredging these guys in a little buttermilk.
10:35I'm gonna make a nice seasoned dredge to be my crunch.
10:37My first restaurant I ever worked in was southern-inspired Creole food.
10:41Quinn used to put a fry garnish on every single dish.
10:44We would have onion straws like I'm doing here to add that crunch at the end of the dish.
10:48I'm gonna put a little bit of this okra into the crispy garnish as well.
10:52It's gonna get a little slimy, but I actually love that.
10:55Steaks on this competition are crazy.
10:57We're gonna get the key to Flavortown.
10:59I'm moving in.
11:00I love your attitude, Chef.
11:03Not really.
11:05Well, those are marinating.
11:07Going for the pork loin, hopefully grilled.
11:10Hell yeah.
11:10I don't think crunch is the most important thing in a dish.
11:13We're bringing the emerald, some bam to the stadium here.
11:15I think the amount of salt is number one.
11:17Blackening spice.
11:18Hell yeah.
11:19Ah, it feels good.
11:20This thing seems hot enough to blacken something.
11:22Hell yeah.
11:23Let's go.
11:23It takes a really high heat to bring that color to them
11:26and reduce the salinity of that blackening spice.
11:30Cool, cool, cool.
11:31It's crunch time.
11:32Yep.
11:33Champ, talk to me.
11:34I am making a hot wing with a super hot glaze with fried okra, baby.
11:41I find similarities with Mexican cuisine and Southern cuisine.
11:45But I'm nervous because Southern cuisine is complicated.
11:49It takes precision.
11:50It takes time.
11:52And you only have 30 minutes.
11:54Atta boy.
11:55So I use buttermilk and hot sauce to tenderize the chicken.
12:00You rest.
12:01Tranquila, mi niña, tranquila.
12:02Okay.
12:03Calm down.
12:04My okra have to be crunchy.
12:06But okra, when you cook it, it's slimy.
12:09You can take off the sliminess by soaking them in vinegar.
12:13I hope I'm right.
12:15I'm going into the last fryer.
12:17Okay, chefs?
12:18Thanks, chef.
12:18I'm looking for as much crunch as possible.
12:22I've been here two weeks and I want to come back the third, the fourth, and the fifth.
12:26Last week, I was playing for Renee, my son.
12:29Now told me, Mom, for once, do it for you.
12:32But my staff is everything.
12:34They deserve races and I'm here competing for money so they can have those races.
12:39Oh, no.
12:41Ay, Dios mio.
12:42My okra.
12:43They come out not good.
12:46They're not crunchy at all.
12:49It's a disaster.
12:51You stay there.
12:52That is 86.
12:53I was going to say, because that's...
12:54I know.
12:55This okra is going to the trash.
12:57Chefs, we are at the halfway point.
12:59It hurts because I'm running out of time and I'm running out of faith in my dish.
13:06Oh, my God!
13:12Right behind you?
13:13Mm-hmm.
13:14It's Flavortown Food Fight.
13:16I've got three chefs and they're battling it out.
13:18I'm waiting for my two judges to show up.
13:19But one judge in particular I know is probably double parked and probably...
13:22Oh!
13:23Oh!
13:24Where did they come now?
13:25Oh!
13:25I guess we let anybody into Flavortown.
13:27The one and only Troy Johnson and Chef Viet Pham.
13:30My brothers, how are you?
13:31Gentlemen, welcome to Flavortown.
13:33Look at this place.
13:34Is there any place for lease?
13:36Because this is where I want to live.
13:37Oh, my God.
13:37Well, yeah.
13:37I contributed to your campaign and I demand a flat from my family above J. Penny.
13:42Oh, by the way, today is the national day of crunch.
13:45It's got to have a sound.
13:46It has to be crunchy.
13:47So who's our reigning champ?
13:48Our reigning champ is Maria Maison.
13:50She is versatile as they come.
13:53All of a sudden, I forgot how to cook.
13:54Okra, I'm not afraid to say, hey, this does not work.
13:57You know what?
13:58Change my game and restart the okra again.
14:01Okay.
14:01First time, I didn't drench them enough.
14:03So I'd season the okra, do a tempura batter, if you will.
14:08Okay.
14:08Season the batter.
14:09Going in this fryer.
14:12Then I'd fry it.
14:13I hope this makes it have a good crispy crunch.
14:19Woo!
14:20I finally got it!
14:22Crunch.
14:23I love the outside crunch.
14:26I love the way they look.
14:27That is called umami, my friends.
14:30Trying to hurry.
14:31Ideas are flying.
14:32What are you making, Maria?
14:33I'm making my hot sauce for my chicken wings.
14:36Mantequilla.
14:37Let's give it a little heat.
14:39I browned the butter a little bit to give it that southern situation going on.
14:44Woo!
14:44That's spicy!
14:46My wings are drenched in cornstarch, flour, and baking powder.
14:51You know, another day at the office.
14:53Ah!
14:54Gorgeous.
14:55I like Maria's.
14:56Wow.
14:57They look great.
14:57But I think Saba is really struggling.
15:00She's definitely flustered.
15:02I want chickpea flour, but I don't see it, and that was my plan.
15:07Normally I'd use chickpea flour for the okra, but we're in a southern restaurant.
15:12That's not available.
15:13I have to pivot.
15:14Gonna throw a little cornstarch in there.
15:16Cornstarch also offers crunchy exterior, and it stays crunchy.
15:21We're gonna fry up some okra right now.
15:24We got two fried okras going on in the kitchen.
15:27Which one's gonna be better?
15:28Okra versus okra, yeah.
15:30And what is it soaked in?
15:31A little bit of buttermilk.
15:31Buttermilk, okay.
15:32Along with some cumin, some coriander.
15:34The old favorite Cajun classics of cumin and coriander.
15:37I gotta represent me.
15:39No, you gotta be you being you.
15:40I'm a small business owner, as is my husband, who's also helping me build my restaurant.
15:47And we've invested everything into our businesses.
15:50I really need that money.
15:53Excuse me?
15:54A lot of business going on in the fire department right now.
15:56I just hope it's crunchy.
16:02The okra is great, and I think the judges are gonna appreciate it.
16:06But I want the crunch factor.
16:09Do I see fennel salad coming there, chef?
16:11Fennel, apple, jalapeno.
16:13Those all sound like crunchy items.
16:15What's the dressing inside of that?
16:16I'm just doing lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper, and I'm gonna throw some cilantro in there.
16:21A little fennel slaw.
16:23And with these heavy fried items, the star of this dish, it's gonna be the salad.
16:30I'm just trying to build a life for my family that will make them comfortable and make them proud of
16:35who their mom is.
16:37Josh, what you making, man?
16:38I am blackening some pork chops.
16:40I feel like that feels super southern.
16:43I don't know if this thing's gonna go all the way to blackens.
16:47You know, it's not my kitchen.
16:49The grill wasn't hot enough.
16:50I saw pretty quickly that there's no way that was gonna get any kind of blackening action on the pork
16:54chops.
16:55So I quickly grabbed a cast iron pan.
16:57Hell yeah. Here we go.
16:58My old standby in an event like this.
17:00And you get sweaty fast in Flavortown.
17:02But I hope that I get that char that I was looking for.
17:04It's crunch day.
17:05And we're going to crispy town now.
17:07I'm gonna trim some green beans up.
17:09A little bit of Cajun spice.
17:11I think that we can add some crunch to these green beans with the grill.
17:14Man, grilled green beans are great.
17:15I also have an andouille sausage.
17:17Something with this guy.
17:19Dude, we're gonna put this in with the grilled green beans.
17:21You know, combining that sausage with the green beans makes it more southern.
17:25Looking great.
17:25I'm here to win for me and my family.
17:27And I want to open our first fish joint and then a restaurant group.
17:31I need to get enough fryer now.
17:32Will you be able to make some room for me in the fryer in a minute, guys?
17:34Yeah.
17:35You have this fryer, huh?
17:36Thank you, chef.
17:37I'm thin to win, chef.
17:38I want to go loose in here so I don't constrict them.
17:41I have crispy green beans.
17:42And now the onion straws are another opportunity for crunch.
17:45I feel like that'll be really delicious.
17:47I need to just keep running for the finish line.
17:49You need to have plates in the pass through in five minutes.
17:51Five minutes, chef.
17:53Let's see how we're looking on pork chops.
17:57Pork chops are cooked perfectly.
18:00What do we have there, chef?
18:02Chicken wings.
18:02In that sauce?
18:03Yes.
18:04It's a play on the hot Nashville chicken.
18:07It might lose some crunch, but I know Nashville hot chicken is sauced.
18:13Chef, your three plates must be in the pass through window.
18:1690 seconds.
18:17Heard.
18:18I'm ready to start plating two chicken wings with a side of tempura okra and homemade ranch.
18:26Guys, I am done.
18:27Nice.
18:29I put the fried okra on the plate, followed by the fried shrimp and then a little pile of
18:36the slaw.
18:38Looking very good.
18:39It's plating time.
18:41First, beautiful green beans with andouille sausage.
18:44Put the pork chop on and pickled jalapenos and pickled okra bring the acidity.
18:49And onion straws add that crunch on top of the dish.
18:51Come on.
18:52Come on.
18:52Five.
18:53Four.
18:54Three.
18:55Two.
18:57And service is done.
18:58Thank you very much.
18:59Great job chef.
19:00That was rad.
19:01Chef Maria.
19:02At least there's some on the plate.
19:04I check all the boxes.
19:06I'm confident.
19:06I'm good.
19:07Those wings are great.
19:09They're in the hands of two very good judges.
19:13Hey champ.
19:14How are you?
19:14The Mexican has arrived.
19:16This looks like a dish where I won't even need this.
19:18I feel like there should be music with that.
19:20I have my own soundtrack.
19:21There we go.
19:22Ok.
19:23Ok.
19:24This chicken wing is inspired by Nashville hot chicken.
19:27Very soulful.
19:29But of course I'm Mexicana and I did a serrano habanero cayenne honey sauce.
19:36My son loves wings and I'm here for him.
19:39When I won the first week I said I did it for you.
19:42He said mom do it for yourself too.
19:44You deserve it.
19:45You can't make me cry before I eat.
19:47Well.
19:47The hot sauce is going to make you cry.
19:48The hot sauce is going to clear your soul if you had one.
19:52But you're a chef so I don't know.
19:55The okra is fried.
19:57And the ranch buttermilk a little bit of Kewpie mayo, salt, pepper, garlic.
20:03Ok.
20:05Meat aside she nailed it.
20:07Wow.
20:08Oh the habanero comes through hot on that.
20:10These okras, these are delicious.
20:12That okra, crispy on the outside.
20:15Slimy?
20:16A tiny bit but it's not slimy to the point where you didn't wrestle with it enough.
20:19It doesn't scare me.
20:20The sauce, it's like literally all gas, no breaks.
20:22It's delicious.
20:23I can bathe in it.
20:25But as much as I was hoping to like bite into this and like get crunch.
20:29Yeah.
20:30You lost crunch through that heavy sauce.
20:33But the flavor is delicious.
20:34That is delicious.
20:35Awesome chef, thank you so much.
20:36Thank you very much.
20:37Let's bring up the next chef.
20:38Sabah I believe you're second.
20:39Yeah.
20:39Ok.
20:40Take it away.
20:41I'm nervous.
20:42Of course I'm nervous.
20:44But I was happy with the dish that I made today.
20:47Alright.
20:48Saba.
20:49How are you Saba?
20:49Hi I'm great, how are you?
20:51Good.
20:51Great.
20:52I am Pakistani ethnically and we cook with a lot of heavy spices.
20:58And it does resonate with southern cooking.
21:00Ok.
21:00This dish that you see here, fried shrimp with a nice cornmeal crust.
21:04I put some warming spices in there and I did grow up with okra.
21:09It's something my grandmother used to cook all the time.
21:11It's a smoked paprika aioli.
21:13And then a little fennel, apple, slaw.
21:17Wow.
21:18Mmm.
21:19Dude, Mediterranean southern.
21:20This is exactly what I would have pictured.
21:23I think that you cooked your shrimp perfectly.
21:25That has that crunch that you expect from cornmeal, right?
21:28Yeah.
21:28I'm blown away at the fact that you were able to add your Mediterranean feel to this dish.
21:34Your salad of fennel and herbs, it really brought freshness and it really balanced out the
21:39dish.
21:39That slaw is perfect.
21:42The okra though, there's a few pieces that I don't think you got totally cooked through.
21:47Mmm.
21:47I mean, I was just pressed for time.
21:50Right.
21:51Job well done.
21:52Saba.
21:52Appreciate it.
21:55All right, chef.
21:56Last but not least.
21:57Go get them.
21:58Hearing what the judges are saying, I'm feeling really confident at this point.
22:01What's up guys?
22:02Yeah.
22:02How's it going?
22:03I think that I'm going to have a home run on my hands.
22:05So we did a blackened pork chop.
22:07On top of that, we've got some buttermilk onion straws.
22:09Okay.
22:09I incorporated the okra in that as well.
22:11Added a ton of Cajun spices to that.
22:13The grilled green beans have got some andouille sausage.
22:16Enjoy.
22:16What did you do to those green beans?
22:19Just a little bit of spice, olive oil, grill.
22:22What was the spice?
22:24Just a little bit of the Cajun spice.
22:28That's delicious.
22:29Nice, good.
22:30Okay, cool.
22:30That is so good.
22:31Green beans are awesome, man.
22:33You know, you're definitely getting some crunch all over the plate.
22:35Putting a bird's nest of those, you know, onion straws.
22:39Yeah.
22:40Fantastic.
22:41I mean, it's almost a riff on a steak free.
22:43I love how you added the okra to it and made it kind of blend in with the onion.
22:48It's really, really great.
22:49Thank you, dude.
22:49But to me, the crunch on the green bean is what makes it.
22:52There you go.
22:52I love those green beans more than anything.
22:54And I can tell how much time you spent in Mina's empire, man.
22:57You can tell why he's kept you there.
22:59The pork is over-seasoned.
23:03Really, really salty.
23:07Yeah.
23:08I was confident with the salt.
23:09And then when I got the Cajun seasoning on there, I was trying to dust some of it off,
23:12because I thought about it, and I'm like, oh, that number one ingredient in it is salt.
23:15So.
23:15Yeah.
23:15Thank you, Chef.
23:16Thank you, guys.
23:17Yeah.
23:17Awesome.
23:19All right, let's talk about this.
23:20All right.
23:21Chef Maria, how'd she do?
23:22It was really good, but she oversauced the wings, and it took away all of the texture.
23:28All of the crunch.
23:29Chef Saba.
23:30Saba Slava.
23:31So good.
23:32How was the okra?
23:33It was undercooked.
23:34And Chef Josh?
23:35The green beans were phenomenal.
23:36But I tell you, salt.
23:38On that chop.
23:39Too much salt.
23:40Well, judges, I need the five-star dish, the four-star dish, and unfortunately, who's
23:45getting the goodbye three-star dish?
23:46Yep.
23:47On the bus home.
23:48This is definitely hard.
23:52Chefs, I gotta tell ya, all three of you made dishes that were full of flavor, no question,
23:57and crunch.
23:58But unfortunately, one of you with a three-star dish, well, your shift is over.
24:02But the five-star dish, well, you'll get to decide where you're going to cook next.
24:09The chef with the five-star dish in the first round of the Flavortown Food Fight will go
24:14to...
24:18Congratulations, Chef Saba.
24:21Oh, my gosh.
24:22Well done.
24:23Good job, Chef.
24:24Maria, you toss the sauce in the wings, taking away a bunch of your crunch.
24:28Mm-hmm.
24:29Josh, there was a lot of salt on that pork.
24:32Mm-hmm.
24:32The chef with the three-star dish that will be their final shift is...
24:41Chef Josh.
24:43If it had not been over-seasoned, it would have been literally a perfect dish.
24:49Live to cook another day.
24:50Yep.
24:51Chef Josh, thank you so much.
24:52Pleasure.
24:53Thanks, guys.
24:54I'm proud of what I did today.
24:55It is a little bit devastating to be at the end of my shift.
24:58There's no margin for error in Flavortown.
25:00But I would love to have another chance to come back.
25:03I don't think Flavortown's seen the last of me.
25:05Holy sh...
25:06I'm here.
25:07I won two times in a row.
25:09I'm defending my title.
25:11Chef Saba, congratulations.
25:13And Chef Maria, congratulations with the four-star dish.
25:15That's $4,000 to your paycheck.
25:17Chef Saba, five stars will get you $5,000 on your paycheck.
25:22But remember, you gotta win next round to collect the paycheck.
25:25So, Chef Saba, now you get to make the decision for this final round,
25:30where would you like to cook?
25:32We have the sausage and hot dog food cart, where it's always a brat summer and the dogs are always
25:37hot.
25:38Knuckle sandwiches, where all the sammies are lip-smacking good.
25:41And then, of course, we have Shea Penny, our fine-dining French restaurant.
25:45All right.
25:46And remember, crunch is king here.
25:48Right.
25:49Ooh, okay.
25:50So, I'm still really not feeling the carts.
25:55Too challenging to bring the crunch factor into.
25:58It's between these two.
26:01It's a tough one, but with fine-dining, I'm not sure about making a crunchy, fine-dining dish.
26:09Crunchy, crunchy, crunchy.
26:11Crunchy, crunchy.
26:12But I love a good sandwich.
26:14You get that perfect bite.
26:17Oh, that's just heaven to me.
26:19I think that the sandwich shop is gonna play into the crunch.
26:25So, knuckle sandwiches it is.
26:27I love the epic knuckle sandwich.
26:33Welcome, chefs, to knuckle sandwiches.
26:36Near and dear to my heart.
26:37Got a big knuckle sandwich tattoo right there.
26:40Today, we have on our menu a stacked sandwich.
26:43Ooh.
26:44I love sandwiches.
26:47Stacked.
26:48Layered.
26:49I got this.
26:51And remember, the theme of Flavortown today is crunchy.
26:54Crunchy.
26:54There's so much opportunity to bring crunch to a sandwich.
26:58I feel like this challenge was made for me.
27:00Now, if you want to make some extra money on that paycheck, we have three upsell opportunities for you.
27:06Okay.
27:07We've got peanut butter for a $2,000 bonus.
27:09Got it.
27:10Peanut butter.
27:11Can be tricky.
27:12It's fatty.
27:13It's nutty.
27:13It's very prominent flavor.
27:15Anchovy paste for a $3,000 bonus.
27:18Okay.
27:18All right.
27:18Okay.
27:19Anchovy paste.
27:20Ooh.
27:21A super salty paste that could totally destroy the dish.
27:26And pineapple for a $5,000 bonus.
27:29Ooh.
27:30Total of $10,000 bonus could be making it to your paycheck.
27:34But remember, you've got to win to collect the paycheck.
27:36Okay.
27:37Okay.
27:37Those three upsells, it's not going to be easy.
27:40Chef Saba using all the upsell ingredients would give you a shot at $20,000.
27:46And Chef Maria, you would be walking with $19,000.
27:50It's time to get cooking.
27:5130 minutes on the clock.
27:52Good luck.
27:52Let's do it.
27:53Thank you, thank you.
27:54All right.
27:55I'm going for some Brussels.
27:58Hi, another day at the office, ladies and gentlemen.
28:01To make more money, I will hit those three upsells, no problem.
28:06But it's not enough.
28:07I'm grabbing everything.
28:09If you want to win, it has to be perfection.
28:12And you need a lot of things to make a perfect knuckle sandwich.
28:16That's the hard part.
28:17Do we have pomegranate?
28:19Every pantry is different.
28:21This is crazy.
28:22Let's see what I can do with this peanut butter.
28:24Plus, I have to incorporate the upsells and crunch.
28:28But big risk, a big reward, right?
28:30Front row seat.
28:32Anchovy paste and peanut butter, both pretty salty.
28:35And pineapple inside of this sandwich.
28:37Of course, we're in the day of crunch, so things need to be crunchy.
28:41Saba's got a lot on the line here.
28:43She was a little bit flustered with the preparation on the first round, but she came through.
28:47Saba, what's the game plan?
28:48Oh, man.
28:49I'm just making it up as I go along here.
28:52I'm gonna do some crispy bacon.
28:55To execute a quick dish with crunch.
28:58Ding, ding, ding.
29:00Bacon.
29:01All right.
29:02As soon as I made that decision, a play on a BLT came into my head.
29:07Okay.
29:08I prefer cooking bacon in the oven.
29:10It's my favorite way to cook bacon also.
29:12It is.
29:12For sure.
29:13How many upsells are you doing, Saba?
29:14I have a little goat cheese, Calabrian chili, and anchovy spread here.
29:20Anchovy works because it offers a lot of umami, some saltiness that's not necessarily fishy.
29:27The peanut butter is a tough one.
29:29Thinking about something with the peanut butter.
29:31Okay.
29:32Peanut butter and anchovies is weird, but this is the make or break moment.
29:36I really need the money for my restaurant.
29:39We are just starting out, so let's try peanut butter with that goat cheese, which is also kind of funky.
29:47A lot of money if you pull it off.
29:49Mm-hmm.
29:54There we go.
29:54Yep.
29:55This actually works.
29:57Nice and salty.
29:58High stakes.
29:59High rewards.
30:00I have some brussels sprouts.
30:02Clean Mediterranean shaved brussels sprouts.
30:06Playing the BLT role of the lettuce.
30:10You can get a lot of crunch from vegetables roasted in the oven.
30:13How are we doing?
30:14Oh, man.
30:16I check on my bacon and crunchy is not happening in this oven right now.
30:21All right.
30:22Hot, hot, hot.
30:23Oh, my God.
30:25So, Saba, you had some bacon that was in the oven.
30:27You took it out.
30:28It's just taking too long.
30:29Today's theme is crunch, so the bacon has to be crunchy.
30:33Stuff is going to go wrong in this kitchen.
30:36It's just how you deal with it.
30:37The future of my restaurant comes down to this bacon.
30:41The thrill of it all.
30:47I don't have a lot of time right now, but these burners are powerful.
30:52Crunchy bacon.
30:53Yeah.
30:54Are you feeling confident?
30:55Um, no.
30:59Maria, so we're going to get a stacked Sammy here?
31:01Yes, sir.
31:02It's cooking good looking.
31:03All right, what do we got?
31:04Mine is an open-faced ribeye Sammy.
31:07Chef Maria is a two-time champ.
31:09Will she be the three-time champ?
31:11Mm-hmm.
31:11She's got a lot riding on this one.
31:13Not just the chance to win more money, but to continue to be the reigning title champ.
31:17I'm thinking on the sauce once again, Maria and her sauces.
31:22Nothing scares me at this point.
31:24I know I have an army of people cheering for me besides my son, my mom, my dad, my siblings,
31:31my girlfriend Carolina.
31:33This one is for her too.
31:35I know I got this.
31:37Peanut butter, pineapple, and jalapenos.
31:40For my sauce.
31:41So she has anchovies?
31:43I don't know if the anchovy made it.
31:45Okay.
31:45Assuming she's making a sauce, anchovies would have added that umami.
31:49Oh, there's the anchovies.
31:50There's the anchovies.
31:51That's the holy trinity.
31:53I mean, the best thing to do when you've got three upsells that may not play well together
31:57is put them in the sauce.
31:58I know the game now.
32:00And to win, you have to use the upsells as much as you can, not just one time.
32:07All right, so Maria, she has a ribeye steak.
32:10She just added the steak into that blend of pineapple, anchovy, peanut butter.
32:15So this sauce has everything that Hunter asked for.
32:20Wow.
32:20That is interesting.
32:21That is very interesting.
32:23Anchovy, pineapple, and peanut butter.
32:25Come on.
32:26That's got like some Thai kind of like flavors going on.
32:30That's right.
32:31Great.
32:32I swear to God, this is mine.
32:36I'm gonna go in the oven.
32:38I'm gonna get some pineapple in there.
32:40I have done grilled pineapple on turkey burgers before, and it was phenomenal.
32:48I'm gonna try to grill it, actually.
32:50Sweet.
32:50Nice.
32:51But you don't wanna spend too much time on the grill.
32:54Otherwise, it'll lose some of that crunch.
32:56This could help you get through the first month of your big dream, opening up a restaurant.
33:00Oh, that would be amazing.
33:03I'm looking for as much crunch as I can pack into my sandwich.
33:08So I grabbed shibata, which is crunchy bread.
33:13Okay, crunchy fried onion situation.
33:16Oh, yeah.
33:17It's coming.
33:17I wanna keep going, and I don't wanna go home.
33:21How much char do you wanna get on those breads there, Maria?
33:24Oh, .
33:25Oh, .
33:27Totally spaced.
33:30Yeah, well, then there's your answer.
33:31Maria doesn't even need to answer me.
33:33She takes the tongs and gets rid of that bread, and she starts over again.
33:36This time, I will go with the country white loaf of bread, cut it, mayo both sides, grill it.
33:44So now, what else can I do with the upsells?
33:48Look what I'm doing.
33:50I am frying peanut butter and pineapple.
33:53What did you deep fry there, Maria?
33:55Clusters of pineapple and peanut butter.
33:57Pineapple and peanut butter clusters deep fried.
34:00That sounds like something Elvis would eat.
34:02Is that something that you've done before?
34:03No.
34:06Fire.
34:07So, Maria, if you win now, this is three battles in a row,
34:10we're setting up a legacy for you.
34:12Yup.
34:12That's the plan.
34:14Looks good.
34:15The last thing I need to do is the bread.
34:19Ciabatta offers a really nice crunch.
34:21That thick bread almost looks like it's stuffed.
34:24There's definitely a lot of risk here.
34:26I know these flavors should work, but I have no idea what this tastes like.
34:33Two minutes.
34:34Two minutes, heard.
34:35Now it's time to assemble.
34:37I spread the goat cheese mixture on my ciabatta bread.
34:41Pineapple on the bottom.
34:43Crispy bacon.
34:44Crunchy brussel sprouts.
34:46And then toasted peanuts on top.
34:48I mean, this is just gonna be...
34:51Yeah.
34:52I start building my open-faced sandwich.
34:55I add my toasted bread and my sauce on the side.
35:00Stack fried onions and pineapple peanut butter clusters.
35:03Stack on stack.
35:04I've been accused of having a big mouth, but I don't know if mine's that big.
35:08Well, sweetheart...
35:10I put my ribeye on the top and my jalapenos.
35:14Salt.
35:15We're going five, four, three, two, one.
35:19Done.
35:19Woo!
35:20Sandwich shop is close.
35:21Time for service.
35:23Okay.
35:23I feel nauseous.
35:24Stomach is in nods.
35:26I will meet you outside next to Shea Penny for a little chit chat.
35:29Okay, sir.
35:29I know that I have what it takes.
35:32They're gonna forget all about Chef Saba.
35:39Chef Saba, we're gonna let you go first.
35:42Okay.
35:42It just comes down to this moment.
35:44Maria is on a roll.
35:47She is so confident, and I'm nervous.
35:49I'm nervous because this is the make-or-break moment.
35:52Hello.
35:53Oh, hey, Saba.
35:54All right.
35:55Are you guys ready for this?
35:56I've been ogling this.
35:57Yeah.
35:59So this is kind of a fun play on a BLT.
36:03Instead of tomato, we have grilled pineapple.
36:06We, of course, have the bacon.
36:07I got the crispy Brussels sprouts in there to replace the lettuce.
36:12Okay.
36:12I can smell those Brussels.
36:13Yeah.
36:13And then I have a goat cheese spread, which has some heat.
36:17It has the anchovies, and it has the peanut butter.
36:25Mmm.
36:27Wow, there's a lot going on here.
36:30So I didn't think that that whipped goat cheese was going to work with the anchovy paste and the peanut
36:35butter.
36:35To me, it's delicious.
36:36It's fine.
36:36I can tell being Mediterranean.
36:38Do a lot of whipped feta.
36:39Right, right.
36:40Yeah.
36:40So that works.
36:41I need more of it, though.
36:42Mmm.
36:43Then it would have been perfect, because every single piece works on its own.
36:46You've got those nice little crispy edges of the bacon.
36:49Yeah.
36:49The Brussels sprouts, weird, weird.
36:51And I like it.
36:53I think that you're on to something really great.
36:55The flavors are all here, but this sandwich needs a little bit more self-restraint, a little bit more polish.
37:02And, like, the bread overpowers everything.
37:05And it's so thick that you have to work through the bread, and then it comes together.
37:09Yeah.
37:10Understood.
37:10Thank you so much, Saba.
37:11I was just trying to bring the crunch factor, so that was...
37:14It definitely does have the crunch factor.
37:14You got the crunch?
37:15Yes.
37:15Okay, at least I got the crunch.
37:16Absolutely.
37:18Maria.
37:19Take it to him, chef.
37:20I feel good going into judging Saba's sandwich.
37:25I was, like, in my humble opinion, not stack enough, but it's anybody's game.
37:30How you doing, champ?
37:31Yeah.
37:32I'm good.
37:32You think you can pull it off again?
37:33Feisty mamacita.
37:34You know what?
37:35Let's talk and discuss that.
37:37Discuss that exact point right now.
37:39So, honestly, it's a blessing in the sky that my chivara got burnt.
37:43Mm-hmm.
37:43Because it's too big and that's no bueno.
37:45Right.
37:45I wanted to give you something that you can play with.
37:47Okay.
37:47It's ribeye.
37:48It's marinated.
37:49The sauce contains anchovy paste, pineapple, peanut butter, and jalape.
37:55Wow, and you went big.
37:56You went all three.
37:58Yeah.
37:58I love it.
38:04Definitely had that crunch factor.
38:06Ribeye open-faced sandwich.
38:08Fantastic choice.
38:09And the amount of pineapples in there were great.
38:11And then when you cut into it, it's soft and it's crunchy.
38:13The steak is beautifully cooked.
38:16However, it is lacking seasoning.
38:18Okay.
38:20Peanut butter.
38:20I love this sauce.
38:22Except for because you did that and then you also did the peanut butter and the pineapple in the tufts.
38:26That was the dominant flavor.
38:28Okay.
38:29It was featuring peanut butter.
38:30Yeah.
38:31That's what it said on the entrance.
38:32But you definitely did hit the crunch bar.
38:35Thank you, sir.
38:36Thank you so much, Maria.
38:38Yeah, this is a toss up for me.
38:40This is a hard one.
38:40How'd that go?
38:41Sauce was boss.
38:43Sauce is boss.
38:44You are the sauce queen.
38:45I'm very confident.
38:46The flavors are there.
38:47The inspiration is there.
38:49What do we think of Saba's?
38:52The one downturn of her dish is the fact that there's so much bread that the rest of the story
38:59got lost.
39:00All filler, no killer.
39:01I'm so mad about my bread.
39:03But I was like, crunchy, crunchy.
39:05And Chef Maria?
39:06Chef Maria made a peanut butter sandwich.
39:08Yeah, that was a tough one.
39:09So that marinade that she made that we had a chance to taste eventually was all consumed by the volume
39:17of the peanut butter.
39:17I mean, when they tell you a thing, it's featuring peanut butter.
39:22Do you give them peanut butter?
39:23Who's got the five-star dish?
39:25I'm leaving it up to you.
39:29Residents of Flavortown, judges, two chefs stand in front of us that made some crunchy sandwiches.
39:35Job well done.
39:37Very tasty, very crunchy.
39:40Unfortunately, at this time of night, we have to announce that one chef's shift will be over.
39:46Chef Saba, if you win, you receive $5,000 in the first round.
39:50You would receive $5,000 in the second round and also $10,000 for using all of your upsell ingredients.
39:57You have a chance of being the first chef to win $20,000 in Flavortown.
40:03Ooh, I like that.
40:05Chef Maria, you were $4,000 in the first round.
40:08If you win, you would receive $5,000 in the second round, $10,000 for all of the upsell ingredients.
40:14So that would leave you $19,000 for today.
40:18Plus, we watched you make $31,000 throughout the competition, which would bring you to a total of $50,000.
40:29The chef who prepared the five-star dish is...
40:37Congratulations, Chef Saba.
40:40Well done.
40:42Well done, Chef.
40:43Congratulations.
40:46Oh, my God.
40:47I cannot believe I just won.
40:50It was a BLT.
40:51Like, who knew?
40:53Chef Maria, you leave Flavortown with $31,000.
40:57Woo!
40:58The first two-time winner we have seen.
41:01And not only that, you were the first chef to cook in all four locations.
41:04You are quite the record holder here in Flavortown and a formidable opponent.
41:09You have brought Flavortown to a new level.
41:12We're sorry to see you go.
41:13Me too.
41:13But Chef, it's not the last we'll see it here.
41:16Congratulations.
41:17Congrats.
41:18I won two times in a row.
41:20I get to go home with some mula for my family, for my staff.
41:25What I gained in Flavortown, priceless.
41:28Freaking priceless.
41:30Chef Saba, it was great to watch you cook.
41:31You have a very effervescent personality.
41:34And the food that you made.
41:36On top of that, you're the first chef in Flavortown history to win $20,000.
41:43Congratulations.
41:46Awesome.
41:47And on top of it all, you get to return next time as our reigning Triple F champ.
41:53Oh, I got it.
41:54Let me ask you this, Chef.
41:55What are you going to do with the money?
41:56Invest it into my restaurant.
41:59Thank you so much.
42:00There you have it.
42:01Let's hear from today's Flavortown Food Fight Champion.
42:05Woo!
42:06Wooо!
42:07WoooOoOoo!